Pumping system for clothes washing machines and the like



Dec. 12, 1961 J. M. l-:vJEN 3,012,429

PUMPING SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Deo. 19, 1960 VALVE 43 VALVE 44 coNoun' 4x coNDulT as] it 67 coNDulT 4s INLET 37 v 66 Y \\1 1 coNoux-r so PUMP ao K i c r "NDUT 33 cm1-LET 3\ ouTLE-r az comm" 3* INVENTOR. J'OHN M. EVCJ'EN jij/JM H15 ATTORNEY United States Patent O Y 3,012,429 PUMPIN G SYSTEM FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE .lohn M. Evjen, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York vFiled Dec. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 76,750 4 Claims. (Cl. 6823) This invenion relates to pumping systems, and more particularly to a pumping system in which a single centrifugal pump automatically selects flow from a particular inlet conduit and passes it ythrough to a particular outlet conduit in response to the pumps direction of rotation.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved reversible centrifugal-type pumping systemwherein flow from one outlet-achieved in response to a first direction of rotation-induces flow through a particular one of two inlets, and, in addition, flow from another outlet-in response to the reverse direction of rotationinduces flow through the other inlet.

It is a further object of my invention to provide my improved centrifugal pump system in a clothes washing machine for the purpose of providing draining and recirculation in response to opposite drections of rotation of the pump.

In one aspect of my invention, I provide centrifugaltype reversible pumping means with inlet means and two different outlets. The pumping means is formed so as to pump uid from the inlet means to a first outlet when the pump rotates in one direction and from the inlet means to a second outlet when the pump rotates in the opposite direction. First and second inlet conduits are provided leading to the inlet means, and in each of these inlet conduits there yis provided a valve which controls flow through that conduit. Each valve is biased to normally allow passage of fluid and includes means responsive to pressure so that the valve closes when the pressure rises. First and second outlet conduits are respectively connected to the rst and second outlets, and are formed so as to have an appropriatelyV high pressure therein, this being accomplished by any suitable means such as, for instance, liow restrictors. First and second branch conduits are also connected to the lirst and second outlets, and lead to the pressure responsive means ofthe two valves respectively.

With this arrangement, when the pump rotates in the direction to emit fluid through the first outlet, pressure occurs therein and is transmitted through the first branch conduit to the pressure responsive means of the first valve so as to close that valve. This ensures that fluid ow will occur only through the second inlet conduit when the pump is rotating inthe direction to emit the fiuid through the first outlet. Conversely, when the direction of the pump is reversed so that fluid is emitted through the second outlet, ythe second valve is closed and the lluid must therefore enter the pump through the first inlet conduit.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specificaion. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, may 4best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of a clothes washing machine including my invention, the view being partially broken away and partially in section in order to illustrate details;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional View of one of the pressure responsive valves included in the washing machine of FIGURE l; and

FIGUREy 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating my pumping system per se, that is, detached from use in a particular appliance such as the washing machine of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to FIGURE l of the drawing, I have shown therein an agitator type vertical axis clothes washing machine 1 having a conventional basket or clothes receptacle 2 provided over its side an-d bottom walls with perforations 3, and disposed within an outer imperiorate tub yor casing 4. Basket 2 may be provided with a suitable clothes retaining member 5 for preventing clothes from being floated overV the top of the basket, and with a balance ring 6 to help steady the basket when (as will he explained) it is rotated at high speed.

Tu-b 4 is rigidly mounted within an appearance cabinet 7 which includes a cover S hingedly mounted in the top portion 9 of the cabinet for providing access to an opening 10 to basket 2. As shown, a gasket 11 may be provided so as to form a seal between the top of tub 4 and portion 9 of the cabinet thereby to prevent escape of moisture and moist air into the cabinet around the tub. A rigid mounting of tub 4 within the cabinet 7 may be effec-ted by any suitable means. As a typical eX- ample of one such means, I have provided strap members 12, each of which is secured at one end to an inturned flange 13 of the cabinet and at its other end to the outside of .tub 4. At the center of basket 2 there is positioned a vertical axis agitator14 whichV includes a center post 15 and a plurality of curved water circulating vanes 16 joined at their lower ends by an outwardly flared skirt 17.

Both the clothes basket 2 and the agitator 14 are rotatably mounted. The basket is mounted on a flange 18 on a rotatable hub 19, and the agitator is mounted on a shaft (not shown) which extends upwardly through the hub 19 and through the center post 15 and is secured to the agitator so as to drive it. During the cycleY of operation of machine 1, water is introduced into the tub 4 and basket 2, and the agitator 12vis then oscillated back and forth on its axis, that is, in a horizontal plane within the basket, to wash the clothes therein. Then, after a predetermined period of this washing action, basket 2 is rotated at high speed to extract centrifugally the washing liquid from the clothes and discharge it to drain. Following this extraction operation, a supply of clean liquid is introduced into the basket for rinsing the clothes and the agitator is again oscillated. Finally, the basket is once more rotated at high speed to extract the rinse water.

Basket 2 and agitator 1'4 may be driven through any suitable means from a reversing motor as the specic transmission means is not a iieature of t-he present invention. By way of example, we have shown them as driven from a reversible motor Ztl through a drive including a clutch 21 mounted on'the motor shaft. When the motor starts up, clutch 21 allows it to start without load and then accept the load as the motor cornes up to speed. A suitable belt 22 transmits power to transmission assembly 23 through a pulley 24. Thus, depending upon the direction of motor rotation, pulley 24 of transmission 23 is driven in opposite directions; Transmission clutch 21 may also be a two-speed clutch so as to provide for various operating speeds of the machine, and in this connection 'a solenoid member25 having a plunger 25 which operates a control member 27 through a spring 2'8 is provided in order to achieve the two-speed operation. Specilically, in the illustrated machine, when solenoid 25 is de-energized, the clutch 2=1 provides a direct drive between motor 2Q and pulley 24, and when solenoid 25 is energized clutch 21 provides a reduced speed `drive to Bochan on January 20, 1959, and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

Transmission 23 is so arranged that it supports and Vdrives both the agitator drive shaft and basket 'mounting hub 19. When motor is rotated in a rst direction the transmission causes `agitator 14 to oscillatein a substant-ially horizontal plane within the basketpZ.' Conversely, when motor 20 is driven in the opposite direction, the transmission rotates wash basket 2 and agitator 1-4 together at ahigh speed for centrifugal liquid extraction. While the specific type of drive mechanism used does not form part or" the invention, reference is made to Patent 2,844,225 Vissued to James R. Hubbard et al. on July 2, 1958'and owned by the General Electric Company, as-

` Vsignee of the present invention. That patent discloses in detail the structural characteristics of a transmission assembly suitable for use in theillustrated machine.

In addition to operating.transmissionY 23, as described,

-motor 20 also provides a direct drive to a pumpstructure generally indicated at 30. While the details of the pump are not shown, the pump may be of any suitable construct-ion provided it is of the rever-sible centrifugal type wherein operation of motor 20 in a rst direction causes uid emission through an outlet 31 and opera-tion of the motor in the opposite directioncauses emission Y of fluid through'an outlet `32. While, as stated, the spe,

citic internal structure of reversible centriugal pump 30 is not shown herein, such pumps-are well known in the art. For instance, suitable -pumps for the purpose *areV disclosed in .Patent 2,883,843, issued to John Boehanon April. 28, 1959; Patent 2,864,312 issued to Winston L.

Shelton et al. on December 16, 1958; and Patent 2,838,002 l issued to David Cohen on lune l10, 1958, all three patents f being assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

When motor 20 rotates in a iirst direction to cause oscillation of agitator 14, the direction of rotation of pump 30 is such as to cause emission of fluid through outlet 32. Whenrthe reverse direction of rotation of motor 20 is provided .so as to spin basket 2, the reversal of the pump causesthe iluid to be emitted through outlet 31 instead of v'outlet 32. Outlet 31 is connected through Va suitable conduit 33 to a drain (not shown). Outlet 32 is connected to a suitable conduit 34 which terminates in Y Van opening 40 is formed at the lowest part of the tub 4 and leads through an inlet conduit 411 to a junction point 42 with conduit 38 so that inlet 37 serves both conduits 38 and 41.. A valve 43 is included in conduit 38, and a similar valve 44 is included in conduit 41.

VReferring to FIGURE 2, Vwherein the specific structure of valve 43 is shown, the valve isformed so as normally to allow ow, this being achieved with Valve 43 by forming it to be normally open, but closed in response to increased pressure provided through a branch conduit 45.

i This maybe eiected by a simple and economical structure, such asthat shown wherein the valve includes a rigid tubular outer casing46 within which is positioned a flexible generally tubular inner member 47. Casing 46 and member 47 form a leak-proof chamber between them Vwhenever member 47 is deformed inwardly from its position as shown. Both members 46 and 47 are joined to the other pants of conduit 38 in leak-proof relation Y by'any suitable means such as, for instance, clamp 48.

valve. It Will be understoodv that va-llves'of this type are n known in the art, and that the valve illustrated is merely intended to beltypical of any pressure operated valve (such as, for instance, bellows operated valves) wr ich may be desired to be used in this particular context. v

' Returning now -to FIGURE 1,.it will be seen that branch conduit 45 isV connected at its other end to the outlet 31. In the particular example shown, this is most Vreadily effected by connecting the conduit `45 directly to conduit 33 so that the ultimate connection to outlet 31 is eiected through conduit 33. Valve 44 is identical'to valve 43 in both structure and operation, and is provided with Va branch conduit 50 which is connected at its other end through conduit 3,4 to outlet 32. When uid iiow occurs through outlet 31, there is suilicient pressure on the outlet side of ythe Vpump to cause closure of valve 43.V If Y necessary, of course, a -ow restrictor such as that shown bythe numeral 51Y may be provided in drain conduit 33 so as to lcause the pressure transmitted through branch conduit 45 to be suticient.. Inthe case of branchconduit 50 it willbe orbservedthat the nozzle 35 at thecnd of coing duit 34 may function as al flow restrictor inV order to kachieve a suitably high pressure. within the conduit 34 and conduit 50.

VWith the structure shown then, operation Vof the and valve 44,which, of course, is open. Conversely, when the pump direction is reversed and flow occurs through outlet 32, the iiovvto the pump must occur through conduit 38 since valve 44 is closed and valve 43 is yopen.

When the motor 20'is operating in the direction to cause oscillation of agitator 14, liquid from tub 4 passes through conduit 38 into pump 30 and then through outlet 32 Iand conduit 34 tonozzle 35. As stated, the nozzle discharges into a ilter panv36; pan 36`may be provided with small openings 52 in the bottoml thereof so that the liquid ows down through the filter pan; anyv lint in the recirculated water is separated and retained in the pan so as to prevent it from being redeposited on the clothes. This type of structure is more fully described and claimedin Patent 2,481,979 issued topRussell,V H. Colley on September 13, 1949 and assigned to General Electric Company, owner of the present invention. l

n This recirculation flow occurs from the opening 39 in tub 4 only, since valve 44 `isclosed by the pressure occurring as a result of flow through conduit 34. This means that any heavy soil particles which arey washed out ofthe clothes will not beV recirculated; such particles normally sink to the bottomrof the tub 4, and since the recirculation is providedV fromV a point substantially above the bottom of the tub, theseparticles are allowed to remain at the bottom of the tub Without interference. Thus, the recirculation of the waterV andthe resulting removal of lint is eiected withoutinterfering with the deposition of heavy soil particles at the bottom of tub '4.

When the direction of the motor 20 is reversed in order to spin basket 2 so as lto extractk liquid fromthe clothes in the basket, the pump 3u causes liquid received through providing a rapid ow through the opening 40 so as to cause all heavy soil particles to be swept down through conduit 41 and then through the pump t-o the drain. Thus, automatically in response to the direction of rotation, the pump not only selects the particular outlet for the liquid to be passed through but also selects the particular inlet conduit from which the liquid is to be received.

Completing now for illustrative purposes the description of machine 1, the motor 20, transmission 23, basket 2 and agitator i4 forms a vsuspended system which is suspended from the stationary structure of the machine so as to permit isolation of vibrations from the stationary structure; it will be understood that such vibrations occur primarily as a result of high speed spinning of basket 2 with a load of clothes therein as mentioned above. While any suitable suspension structure may be used, I prefer to use a suspension structure which includes a bracket member 53. Bracket 53 has transmission 23 mounted on the top thereof and motor 20 mounted to the 'underside thereof, the bracket member in turn being secured to oppositely positioned upwardly extending rigid members 54. Each upwardly Vextending member 54 is connected to a cable :55, which extends upwardly so as vto be supported from the top of the machine. While only a portion of the suspension structure is shown in the drawing, in order not to abscure unduly the features of my invention, such a vibration isolating system is fully described and claimed in application Serial No. 843,611, now Patent No. 2,987,190, for Vibration isolating System tiled on September 21, 1959, by lohn Bochan and assigned to General Electric Company, owner of the present invention. Such a suspension system provides for iiexible support of the motor, transmission, agitator, and basket so as to isolate vibrations in that system from the casing of the machine.

In order to accommodate the relative movement which occurs between basket 2 and tub 4 without any danger of leakage of liquid between them, stationary tub 4 is joined to the upper part of transmission '23 by a suitable flexible boot member 56. Boot 56 may be of any suitable conguration, many of which are known in the art, to permit relative motion of the parts to which it is joined without leakage therebetween. Also, conduits 38 and 41 may be formed of flexible material, such as rubber, for the same purpose.

Hot and cold water may be supplied to the machine through a pair of conduits 57 and 58 which are adapted to be connected respectively to sources of hot and cold Water (not shown). Conduits 57 and S8 extend into a conventional mixing valve structure 59 having solenoids 60 and 61 so that energization of solenoid 60 permits passage of hot water through the valve to hose 62, energization of solenoid 61 permits passage of cold water through the valve, and energization of both solenoids permits mixing of the hot and cold water in the valve and passage of warm water into hose 62. Hose 62 terminates in an outlet 63 positioned to discharge into basket 2 so that when one or both of the solenoids 60 and 61 are energized water enters into basket 2 and tub 4. It will be understood that water is thus introduced at the beginning of washing and rinsing operations until the water reaches a suitable liquid level in tub 4.

One typical means of controlling the liquid level is to provide an opening 64 in the side of tub 4 adjacent the bottom thereof, the opening 64 being connected through a conduit 65 to a conventional pressure sensitive mechanism (not shown) which may be positioned within the back splasher 66 of the machine. In the conventional manner, as the water rises in basket 2 and tub 4 it exerts increasing pressure on a column of air trapped in conduit 65, and at a predetermined pressure level the column of air then trips the pressure sensitive mechanism to shut oi whichever of solenoids 60 and 61 may be energized. The backsplasher 66 may have suitable manual controls such aolaliae as that shown at 67 extending therefrom so that the particular type of cycle including washing and spin speeds and water temperature may be controlled to etlect the washing of different types of fabrics. While many different control arrangements are well known and may be used, one specic suitable such arrangement is shown and described in Patent 2,950,612 issued to Wallace H. Henshaw, Ir., on August 30, 1960 and' assigned to General Electricy Company, owner of the present invention.y

It willV be seen from the foregoing description that the operation of washing machine 1 is substantially enhanced by the provision of my inventive pumping system whereby automatically, in response to reversal of rotation of pump 30, recirculation flow from tub 4 occurs only through conduit 38 and draining of water from tub 4 occurs only through conduit 41.

It will be recognized that my pumping system will find usefulness in other applications in addition to the one specifically described above and, with that in mind, I have shown in schematic form in FIGURE 3 the pumping system as used in the washing machine of FIGURE l, with the same numerals being applied to the schematically showncomponents for purposes of clarity. Inasmuch as the operation of the componentslof the system has already been explained, it will not be repeated in connection with FIGURE 3 otherV than to state that, as shown by the arrows and as understood by the operation of the valves 43 and 44, ow out through conduit 33 Will cause the flow into the pump to occur only through conduit 41, and flow out through conduit 34 will cause flow into the pump to occur only through conduit 38.

While my invention has been described by reference to a particular embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that modications may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the invention, and it is therefore my aim in the appended claims to cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. Centrifugal type reversible pumping means having inlet means and first and second outlets, said pumping means being formed to pump fluid from said inlet means to said first outlet upon rotation in one direction and from said inlet means to said second outlet upon rotation in the other direction; iirst and second inlet conduits leading to said inlet means; iirst and second valves controlling flow through said first and second inlet conduits respectively, said valves being arranged to normally allow fluid flow therethrough and including respectively first and second means responsive to pressure to close said valves; first and second outlet conduits respectively connected to said iirst and second outlets, each of said outlet conduits being formed to provide a substantial pressure at its associated pump outlet; and first and second branch conduits connecting said first and second outlets to said pressure responsive means of said first and second Valves respectively; said lirst pressure responsive means closing said iirst valve in response to fluid ilow from said first outlet, said second pressure responsive means closing said second valve in response to fluid ow from said second outlet.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein each of said outlet conduits include flow restricting means for providing said substantial pressure.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein each of said valves is formed with a rigid tubular member and a flexible generally tubular member positioned therewithin so as to form an air-tight chamber between said tubular members, each said branch conduit communicating with one of said chambers, each said flexible tubular member being collapsedV to flow-blocking position upon an increase of pressure within its associated chamber as'transmitted thereto through its associated branch conduit.

4. A clothes washing machine comprising: a rotatably mounted perforated clothes receptacle; means for eiecting movement of clothesand liquid in said clothes recep' tacle;.an'imperforate liquid receptacle substantially surrounding said clothes receptacle so as to retain liquid within said clothes receptacle, said liquid receptacle hav#v ing a recirculation opening formed in the side thereof and f apdrain opening formed in the bottom thereof; centrifugal type reversible pumping means having an inlet Aand first and second outlets, said pumping means being formed to pump. fluid rom said inlet to said irst outlet upon rotation in one direction and from said inlet to Vsaid second outlet `upon rotation in the other direction; a common reversible drive motor for said pumping means, said clothes receptacle, and said movementeiecting means, intermediatermeans causing operation of said motor in a Y rst direction to rotate said pump in one direction andV to operate said movement eifecting means, said intermediate z first outlet conduit connected to said first outlet and ond inlet conduits respectively, saidY valves being biased to open position and includingrespectively first and second means responsive'to pressure to close said valves; a

adapted to connect said rst outlet to a drain; a second outlet conduit connected at one end to said second outlet, said second outlet conduit being formed to have yits other end in position to emit liquid back intosaid liquid receptav cle, earch 'of said outlet conduits being formedv so that Vmeans causing operation of said motor in the opposite di` Y rection to rotatei said pump in the opposite direction andV ow of liquid therethrough-bylsaid pump provides a substantial pressure at the associated outlet; and first and second branch'conduits connecting said first and second outlets to said pressure responsive means of'said first and second valves respectively; said rst pressure responsive means closing said first valve in response to fluid flow from said rst outlet, said `second pressure responsive means closing said second valve in response to uidow from said second outlet. *Y

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITEDl STATES PATENTS 2,341,894 Banni' Feb. 14, 1944 2,823,534 1.06111@ Peb. 18, 195s 

